"There's no shame to my game," the married judge told Fox 2's Charlie LeDuff. Asked if he'd sent the same photo to other women, McCree admitted without hesitation, "Oh yeah, I've sent that out to other women, sure."

The photo was reportedly discovered on the unnamed recipient's cell phone by her husband, who told LeDuff he found the judge's behavior "inappropriate." But McCree disagreed, saying the photo is entirely innocent.

"I am in no more clothes than I'll be at the Y this afternoon when I swim my mile," he said.

McCree's father, Wade McCree Jr., served under President Jimmy Carter as the second African American Solicitor General in US history. McCree served as a judge at the 36th District Court in Detroit before being appointed in 2004 to the Wayne County 3rd Circuit Court by then-Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm.